Reacting to a second Obama inauguration

For the 57th time in our nation's history we respectfully and peacefully have inaugurated a president. As a 60-something father of three who clearly remembers watching John F. Kennedy's historic presidential address in 1961, I can't help but wonder what kind of world my children will inherit long after President Barack Obama and I are gone. One president's priorities and policies don't always translate to another president.

What does live on is George Washington's brilliant foresight. When asked the question, “What is most important of this grand experiment, the United States?” Washington prophetically answered, “Not the election of the first president, but the election of its second president. The peaceful transition of power is what will separate this country from every other in the world.”

Monday's inauguration is now in the history books. I am hopeful it will live on in my children's hearts and in millions of other hearts for decades to come.

Denny Freidenrich

Laguna Beach

I hope the 47 percent who pay nothing for Obama's grand ball remember that while he wines and dines, his troops are in godforsaken places all over the world, wining and dining on water and C-rations [“A quiet beginning,” Front Page, Jan. 21]. He is concerned about them only when he has no other choice but to address their existence.

The king and his court, the Democrats, have driven us into Third World-debtor status, created a medical plan that will break taxpayers, plans to legalize illegals at the expense of those who waited on lists for years and seeks to destroy the Second Amendment.

Ed Bjork

Fountain Valley

The president laid out his plan for his next four years. In essence, he said that climbing welfare rates, food stamp recipients, joblessness, union favoritism, government expansion and inflation will continue unabated.

The news article presented an inaccurate picture of the number of abortions performed since the Supreme Court's decision. The omission is critical as the effects and consequences of
Roe v. Wade on our culture are undeniable. There have, in fact, been an estimated 54,559,615 abortions since the decision to allow virtually unlimited abortions, according to National Right to Life Committee education director Dr. Randall K. O'Bannon, who bases his estimates on data from both the Centers for Disease Control and the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, a former Planned Parenthood research arm that receives these numbers directly from abortion centers.

Along with abortion, there has been a decrease in marriage and motherhood and an increase in child abuse, divorce and drugs.

Very little has been written about the cultural, much less the psychological, effects of the killing of one's own unborn infant. Having spent 40 years in the practice of psychiatry, I would suggest it's high time we examined these issues in an honest, forthright manner. It might enable us to heal what has ailed us for 40 years and restore our national psyche and soul.

R. Claire Friend, MD

Newport Beach

I live in Orange and often have a need to go down Tustin Avenue, where the local Planned Parenthood office is located. The protesters out front are a menace and should be cited for disruptive behavior. They are a serious distraction for drivers. They wildly gesture and often shout at passing cars and at cars that are coming through the Planned Parenthood driveway.

I have seen them block the driveway and scream at the people driving through. Do they even know if the people going there are having abortions? Could they not be having examinations or just picking up information? Regardless, their behavior is not helping their cause.

Jeannie Flippin

Orange

I really don't understand the abortion “debate” dilemma. The Declaration of Independence guarantees each American a right to life. Life, by any scientific definition, begins with conception. Every fertilized human egg is a human being and never develops into anything other than a human being. That human being, along with every other human being in the U.S., is guaranteed a right to life. Where's the “debate?”

Eric Snyder

Huntington Beach

Instead of speaking in euphemisms like a “product of conception” or “fetal tissue,” let us first define what is being aborted – a human. So the question or debate is whether or not we have a right to take the life of a human for any and all reasons.

As a Christian, I believe taking a human's life is a sin. Perhaps if we were to live by God's commandments this would not be an issue and we would not have as many tragedies, such as the ones in Newtown or Columbine. The difference in taking the life of innocent school kids and abortion is the place of residence.

It ultimately depends on which side of birth you reside. Post-birth, we have all kinds of laws to protect our life, but, prebirth, we are most vulnerable.

Harry Wilson

Santa Ana

Walmart's positives

I've asked cashiers at Walmart if they like their employer. I've never heard a negative response. I invite letter-writer William J. Brennan to do the same [“Walmart's commitments,” Jan. 21]. Further, I'd suggest Brennan question any of the countless shoppers who frequent Walmart on why they shop there. They have a choice and patronize Walmart of their own free will.

Walmart has provided so many jobs and economical shopping opportunities for middle- and low-income Americans, I'm forever grateful. The Walton family, founders of the nation's largest retailer, deserves every penny they've earned.

As a veteran, I'm heartened to see Walmart's program to hire returning warriors.

Steve Shatynski

Brea

NRA cartoon

Cartoonist Christopher Weyant's suggestion that lying cyclist Lance Armstrong would be considered as spokesman for the National Rifle Association is typical leftist tripe [Cartoons, Jan. 17]. Weyant intimates that NRA members are cabal of

reprobates who would surely benefit from the affiliation of a professional cheat.

In fact, the NRA cannot afford to disseminate anything that strays from absolute truth. The NRA is, and must be, credible. The reason for this is simple: mainstream media hyenas will immediately tear into any NRA statement as they sniff hungrily for the tiniest misstatement of fact.

Heath Robinson

La Habra

Gun control

How many guns does letter-writer Roger Iles own [“Surefire ways to get practical on gun control,” Jan. 19]? If he were a gun collector and had a collection of 100 guns, would he want the type of registration he suggests? I don't think so. Maybe time and money doesn't mean a thing to him. His plan would never work.

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